Kiss My Culture • Posts Tagged ‘The Nocturnal Voice’

TNV: Kurt aka Clash The Disko Kids “I Love Vinyl and I Can’t Lie”

The Nocturnal Voice (TNV) is a weekly column on Singapore’s nightlife written by the movers and shakers of the industry. From DJs to marketing executives and label honchos to club owners, TNV is where they share their opinions, visions and ideals.

Written by: Kurt Loy aka Clash The Disko Kids, DJ and founder of #vinyloftheday

Do I still play vinyl records? Well, yes, and dealing with it is quite labour intensive.

To be honest, vinyl is not for just anyone to play or care for. Collecting them is an expensive hobby and a holistic pursuit because you are a very active part of the process.

TNV: Vanessa Fernandez “Local Is Not A Four-Letter Word. Or Is It?”

Old Singapore Playground Series “Pasir Ris Elephant” by Fong Qi Wei

Written by: Vanessa Fernandez, singer-songwriter and one-half of Octover

Whenever someone talks about my birthplace’s food, cleanliness, safety or transport efficiency, I’m really proud to say I’m Singaporean.

Since I spend half the year in Los Angeles these days, I get to tell people a lot about Singapore. People think I’m Mexican, Filipino, Inuit or Native American but never Singaporean and much less, half Chinese and half Indian.

Fewer and fewer people think Singapore is in China but almost everyone still associates it with banned chewing gum. I love pointing out that it’s no longer banned but then feel stupid when I explain it’s only sold at pharmacies.

I don’t feel insulted as much anymore when they remark on how I speak English so well. I casually explain that we socialize in English and isn’t it so interesting that we have not one but four official languages?

Plus it’s a great segue into how good our education system is, how Singapore grew as a port part of the British colony, and how awesome and cheap the variety of food is.

Eventually, the conversation leads into me revealing that I’m a singer and I usually try to stop the conversation at its most seemingly interesting juncture because firstly, it’s fun to do so and more importantly, from experience, I’ve learned one important thing: Conversations about the Singapore music scene are best had with locals.

But local is almost a four-letter word in some circles and I don’t know why. Ok, I lie, I do kinda know why.

TNV: Tirso Garcia “Rebuilding Our Music Scene”

DJ Larry Lai at the Rediffusion studio in 1975. Photo by Nik Kasmani, New Nation.

Written by: Tirso Garcia aka JNR, DJ and co-founder of Matteblacc

I promised Zul that this would be in his inbox by this Sunday morning, but it’s the afternoon. Here I am doing what I always do –going through my music and filtering any new stuff that comes my way. Always digging. In between digs, I’ve wrote a few thoughts that have been on my mind for a while.

Most DJs would agree that actual DJing is probably one tenth of the time spent on the job. It’s not as easy as going to an online record store and choosing the week’s latest top ten bangers. It’s about expanding your sound, not regurgitating someone else’s. Unearthing gems of your own, and making sense of them to see how they fit into your set. At least that’s what it is to me.

TNV: Brandon Tay “The Creative Dilemma”

Image by Brandon TayThe Nocturnal Voice (TNV) is a weekly column on Singapore’s nightlife written by the movers and shakers of the industry. From DJs to marketing executives and label honchos to club owners, TNV is where they share their opinions, visions and ideals.

Written by: Brandon Tay, Visual Artist, Syndicate

I had a discussion with a peer recently regarding the nature of the creative industry. We discussed about the separation of what constitutes creative work and one that pay the bills.

We agreed that creative work is an endeavor of expression to manifest a thought or feeling in a given medium. The work we do to occupy the need for excellence for its own sake, to channel inspiration and to inspire others.

The logistics of execution sorts itself out to a more-or-less satisfactory degree. There is no deadline to work on a creative task as it completes itself when the time is right.

Work that pays the bills on the other hand is the sort of projects one doesn’t think about but is used as a conduit for the needs of a third party.

The axioms: “take the money and run…” or “do it for the cash” comes to mind when one engages in a project of this nature.

TNV: Paul Seow “Why I’m A Music Snob - Taste, Programming and Creativity”

Written by: Paul Seow, DJ and lecturer at Objectifs - Centre for Photography

The DJ has historically been the gatekeeper of music. From rare vinyls to one off plates, the DJ held the power to make or break a record.

DJs would jealously protect their white labels for anonymity and physical harm as they knew that it defined them as much as their skill on the turntables.

Fast-forward to 2012, there is no physical medium as the majority of DJs work off mp3 and wav files; nor is there any anonymity from the music offered.

It takes seconds for someone in a club to fire up SoundHound or Shazam to figure out what a DJ is playing, and not much longer to hit one of the online retailers or music blogs to download the track.

TNV: Maurice Simon “The Rise of Female Model-DJs”

[This article is published in collaboration with The Shaolin Satellite Report – a series of reports on the state of contemporary music culture.]

Written by: Maurice Simon, corporate lawyer, co-founder of Niven & Niven, DJ

A few years ago, I read a historical biography entitled Love Saves The Day - A History of American Dance Music Culture, 1970 - 1979 by Tim Lawrence. It offered a captivating account of American dance music culture in the 70s.

From its underground roots in NoHo and Hell’s Kitchen to its flashy sprouts in central New York which later spread through America’s suburbs and urban centres like Chicago, Boston and San Franciso, Tim Lawrence weaves an account of nocturnal journeys, ground-breaking music making, liberation and sexuality flowing through this era.

This was an era when household names like Loleatta Holloway, David Mancuso and Frankie Knuckles came to the fore and found their groove and their place, as driving forces of this burgeoning, expressive and genuine cultural movement.

TNV: Josaiah Chong “For The First Time in 10 Years, I’m Sitting Out ZoukOut”

A performing artist strapped to a giant balloon at ZoukOut last year. Picture by Afiq Omar.

Written by: Josaiah Chong, graphic designer and half-honcho of Aligned Agency

Many many years ago I went for my first ZoukOut. Those were the days when trying to cultivate my interest in electronic music was like trying to catch a slippery eel and tie it into a bow.

I had little idea of how house was different to techno and all the sub-genres in between.

There was no Beatport, no YouTube, and definitely NO electronic dance music played on the radio. (Although you could occasionally catch Jeff Mills’ “Bells” played on MTV… Shock! Horror!)

TNV: Kaye “Artists, Don’t Let Anybody Squeeze Your Balls For Free”

Written by: Kaye, electronic music artist; one-half of Cosa Nostra

Rich people make the most successful artists in the industry. Really, they do.

They don’t have to deal with mundane problems like undercutting, or predatory agents and promoters, or starved for attention amateurs who will perform for next to nothing so they can impress some friends.

They can just concentrate on their craft and solely on their craft, take a break at the W for high tea, then go back to their 2,000 sq ft studio to continue working.

TNV: Hafez Masterpiece “Lessons from 2012”

Image by Tyrsamisu

Written by: Hafez Masterpiece, electronic artist and singer; member of Pushin’On collective

2012 has been a wonderful year and this is what I’ve learnt from it.

“Music doesn’t live in clubs anymore.” – DJ Tom Shellsuit

Many club residents are sick of playing commercial shit. If this description applies to you, don’t give up. There is still hope.

You can only do music for the money to a certain point. After that it starts eating at your soul.

TNV: Zul Andra “Get The Fuck Out of The DJ Console”

Written by: Zul Andra, Entertainment Writer

The only reason I would ever go up to a DJ console is to pick up my shoe. Oh you know, the same shoe that I’ll throw at an unsuspecting punter who has absolutely no real purpose to be behind the console. You might argue that throwing a shoe was sooo early-21st-century-tiger-moms-ago, but this is untrue. Iraqi reporter Muntadhar al-Zaidi threw his shoe at George Bush three years back (and missed, unfortunately). Muntadhar joins a long list of shoe throwers who have taken part in this activity since 2008.

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